Destiny: Fading Stars Chapter 1
by DarkMoonTitan
Summary: Three Guardian's that seek adventure, find something more than what they bargained for while uncovering a mystery on a routine mission.
Destiny: Fading Star

By James Hampton

The Last City on Earth, a beautiful and exceptional place to live under the protection of the Traveler, safeguarded by the Guardians of the Tower, keepers of the Light. The Last City is a prosperous and bright place where merchants thrive and life is abundant; but even light casts a shadow. The evening sun is setting far off in the mountains as the Tower's shadow looms over the city. The people here feel safe and happy knowing that their guardian angels are always watching over them.

Sirens are blaring throughout the ship, a hulking mass of metal an iron, the red alert light painted everything they saw the color of danger. There were people in once pristine white lab coats now dirtied by debris and blood running down broken corridors stumbling over one another to get to escape pods but their efforts were in vain. Most of them were either gone or dysfunctional. Explosions, screams, and sparks run amok in this ship meant for scientific discovery in the deep vacuum of space currently located in the Reef. This ship was being fired upon by Fallen pirates looking to loot and take anything that could be of use to them. Somewhere in another part of this ship a woman in a gown with surgical tape, wires and tubes stuck to her body, covered in scars stumbled along as the ship rocked back and forth. She fell over unable to walk, her hands trembling, her legs quivering. She placed her hand on the wall and attempted to get back up to her feet, but before she could gather her strength a hole in the ship opened up beside her. No words formed in her mouth for the vacuum of space had taken them from her along with her body. All sounds ceased to play except for the rhythm of her heartbeat slowly beginning to slow. She floated endlessly floating in a purple hue watching as the rest of the ship is torn apart. Her orange colored eyes began to dim slowly but surely. Her skin froze over and the steady drumbeat of her heart had stopped.

A figure rose quickly from her bed gasping for air, her chest rising and falling rapidly in her worn and torn black tank top. Her blue skin covered in beads of sweat, her violet hair damp sticking to her forehead like strands of silk, sheets were wet with her sweat and the soft aroma of lavender lingered in the air from the other side of her bed. The sun was still under the horizon and the stars outside hanging over the Traveler twinkled like precious gems. Her Ghost floated in front of her as she was sweating profusely and still gasping for air. The Ghost spoke in a metallic yet caring and warm voice to her almost like a caring sister.

"Are you alright? You seem to be in distress. Your heart rate and breathing are highly elevated beyond 95bpm and you are sweating abundantly. Should I be alarmed Quinn?" Quinn's orange eyes quickly darted towards her black and silver Ghost.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just having a heart attack in my sleep." She stated.

"Sarcasm is not one of your strongest suits Quinn." She pushed the Ghost out of the way, it drifted back past her. Getting out of her bed she made her way to the window, looked over the still slumbering city, sighed and started to stretch without saying a single word; she cracked her neck and gave a small smile as she headed to her shower.

"Prepare the normal training regimen for today. Don't forget the music this time." She added. The Ghost blinked its electric blue eye at her and also sighed.

"Your training is far beyond what anyone would call normal. But I will do so as you see fit Guardian." It floated around the room filled with only the essentials that Quinn needed. The only decoration she had was a picture of her and her Fireteam. She reappeared into the room now dressed in her all gray hooded sweat suit. The Ghost was running its data as Quinn spun on her heels leaning forward and falling towards the hardwood floor catching herself with one hand, her curved nose centimeters from the floor. "Two sets of 100 pushups on each hand, four sets of 50 vertical crunches, and a couple laps around the entire city wall." Every morning consisted of this training along with her mastering her skills with a knife. As Quinn headed out into the city she took a look up at the desolated Traveler. While standing in its shadow, taking in the silence, the peace and tranquility of the early morning she breathed in the brisk cool air that seemed to fill her lungs with a jolt of energy.

The sun is now high in the sky as Quinn walks the streets of the city. Its residents had awoken from their slumber, and now the city seemed more alive than ever. Children running and playing, shops setup with people bartering prices for goods, Frames and Guardians, patrolling the streets with relaxed shoulders. Humans, Exo, and Awoken, from all walks of life, lived here behind the protection of these walls living freely, not having to fight for their survival.

Quinn liked to observe people, she was never the type to openly show her emotions to anyone except to those she felt comfortable around, and took an interest in watching other people's daily routines, and in doing so the world around her ceased to move. For example, across the plaza from where she was sitting, there was a man who makes the same route every single day when the weather permitted it. This older gentleman with short gray hair, would always go to the same Awoken vendor each morning and purchase a cup of coffee. Always large, always black. He had the habit of touching his right elbow after ordering and walked off elsewhere. Similarly, an Exo woman would pick flowers from around the city and give them to the poor kids near a shop every other day. On these alternating days she would wear a sunhat and dress while carrying along a basket of food hooked over her arm to eat with the children, who were orphans of war. This intrigued Quinn. She had never seen an Exo act the way this one did with so much humanity, except for the hunter Vanguard Cayde-6.

Quinn's eyes darted across this plaza focusing from one person to the next. While observing two Guardians walking together she got a feeling. The kind of feeling someone gets when they are being watched. She felt a tingle trickle down from the base of the neck and down her spine, as if there were insects racing down her back. Her eyes whizzed and dashed from person to person in this throng of people trying to figure out who was watching her and had snapped her away from the world inside her mind. Before she could locate the origin of this feeling her Ghost materialized in front of her and chimed in cutting her off from her thoughts as the world around her continued to move once more. She sighed and looked at her Ghost.

"This better be important Kasumi." This was the name she had given her Ghost after careful consideration.

"Well it is. Clan leader Starling…" Quinn cut her off.

"Ugh. What does he want?"

"I was just getting to that." Kasumi sounded annoyed. "He is summoning all clan members of Wayward Crow for an emergency meeting. He wants you to gather your Fireteam and report to the Tower immediately. All other details will be discussed at the briefing." Quinn stood up from the bench where she was sitting, and started walking with Kasumi, her hood up over her frizzled hair, her hands shoved promptly in her pockets.

"So where are the other two now?" She asked. Kasumi spun in circles around Quinn's head beeping and whirring.

"Just a second. I'm checking their logs." She came to a halt now floating by Quinn's side. "you're not going to like this." She hesitated in giving Quinn an answer.

"Kasumi? Where are they?" She asked.

"Well… it appears they are currently in training room 17b." Kasumi said with a slight worry as Quinn sighed.

"Of course they are." She stated. She was now more annoyed than she was earlier, that feeling of serenity was now all but gone.

"Right." Kasumi chimed in. "We don't want to happen what happened last time Rose and Jet sparred together. They completely destroyed the room and left a gaping hole in the wall."

"I remember clearly because I was the one who had to come out of pocket for the repairs, over a billion glimmer gone in an instant." She flung her hands in the air grasping nothing, like the money had just evaporated from her grasp. She sucked her teeth. "I better go get them before they get too out of hand again and I have to explain to my landlord why my rent is late again."


End file.
